Finding Common Ground
by malaleen
Summary: The morning after Snow White and Emma return from the Enchanted Forest, they have a talk about their new family relationships. Set after the short story Mother and Son Chat.


**Author's Notes:** This second of several planned stories involving Emma and her family and friends, the first being "Mother and Son Chat". I really wanted to explore her relationships with her family, as well as a few other people. I apologize in advance if there are some mistakes found within the story. I'm beta-less at the moment.

I also do not own these characters, but deeply enjoy the chance to explore their universe with fanfiction.

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Emma woke to the scent of coffee brewing filling the air, and the sound of someone moving around in the kitchen. She turned her head to look at her son sleeping on his stomach next to her on the bed, his entire body wrapped up like a mummy in her blankets. Something was going to have to be done regarding the living situation, as sharing a bed with her nearly eleven year old son on a nightly basis was not something she cared to repeat. She had managed little sleep last night, thanks to all of Henry's tossing and turning in the bed, not to mention the fact he was a terrible blanket hog. Emma had been forced to get a throw blanket from the living room shortly after midnight thanks to Henry absconding with all the bedding. No, she would definitely have to do something about the living situation. Her son deserved his own space, and frankly she wasn't really looking forward to living with her essentially newlywed parents in such an open apartment space.

With a soft groan, Emma slid out of bed and padded towards the kitchen, hoping to score some fresh coffee. She had missed many things while surviving in the Enchanted Forest, but drinking coffee was something she missed dreadfully. As she entered the kitchen area, she saw Mary Margaret desperately searching through the cupboards for something. She walked over to the coffee machine, grabbing a cup that was sitting next to it, and filled it nearly to the brim. She quickly took a sip, sighing in happiness at the taste she had missed.

"What are you looking for?" she asked Mary Margaret, causing her to jump slightly at the sound.

"Emma, you're awake," she replied, giving Emma a harried smile. "Is Henry still sleeping?"

"He's sleeping like a log still," Emma responded, giving her mother the eye, "but you still haven't answered my question."

"I was trying to find something to make in this apartment for breakfast besides coffee or juice, but it seems that your father and son haven't been grocery shopping since we left," she answered with a grimace. "I suspect they ate a lot of meals at Granny's while we were gone. Charming was never much of a cook."

"Where is David anyway?" Emma inquired, looking around the loft for him. She didn't see him anywhere, and she couldn't imagine he would have left his family so soon after getting them back.

"I sent him to the store to buy some food to make breakfast for all of us," Mary Margaret answered. "Of course, I had to give him a very specific list of what to buy, but he should be back soon."

"Why don't we just wake up Henry and we can go to Granny's for breakfast? The food can wait," Emma said.

"No!" Mary Margaret exclaimed, shocking Emma by her response. "No Granny's!"

Emma was surprised by her empathic response. "What's wrong, Mary Margaret? We don't need to go to Granny's if you don't want. But you certainly don't need to cook for all of us."

Mary Margaret gave a tiny sniff, and tried to smile wanly back at Emma. "Don't you see, Emma? That's all I want to do. All I want is to have a chance to take care of my family. I haven't had a chance to do that for the past 28 years."

"Oh," Emma responded, trying to understand what Mary Margaret was feeling. This wasn't something she was used to dealing with, someone wanting to take care of her. They had spoken about this after the wardrobe had burned to the ground, but Emma was still uncomfortable with depending on others for help. "Mary Margaret—"

"Are you ever going to be able to call me mom, Emma?" Mary Margaret interrupted quietly, giving Emma a sad look.

Emma looked down at her coffee, not sure how to respond to her request. She hadn't really let herself think about the reality of her former roommate and best friend turning out to be her mother, a mother who coincidentally nearly the same age as she was. Looking up at her, she tried to begin by saying "Is that what you want me to call you? Because if it is, I'm not sure I can, at least not yet."

This time it was Mary Margaret who looked down at the counter. Emma sighed and continued, "You have to understand, it's not that I don't _want_ to consider you my mother, it's just that it's really weird to think about, you know? We were best friends before the curse ended, and we're the same age. Mom's aren't supposed to be like that."

"I understand," Mary Margaret said weakly, looking up to give Emma a small smile. "I wish it could be different, Emma."

"I do, too," Emma confessed. She debated trying to change the subject, but decided that this issue really needed to be addressed with Mary Margaret. It wasn't like it would get any easier if she waited. "Look, I might not be able to call you mom just yet, but what would you like me to call you? I've been still calling you Mary Margaret in my head, but you were called Snow back in the Enchanted Forest. Would you rather go by that now?"

Mary Margaret gave a soft chuckle at Emma's attempt at peace making. "Well, I think I'd prefer Snow White, though I'm not going to be upset at you calling me Mary Margaret."

"I'll try to remember to call you Snow," Emma replied. Taking a large gulp of her now cooled coffee, she gave Mary—no Snow a tentative smile. Hearing a rustling at the loft's door, she turned to see David struggling to bring in several shopping bags full of food. She watched as Snow hurried towards him, grabbing a bag from his arms, and giving him a quick kiss. Emma, while happy to see Snow and David so happy, was slightly uncomfortable about watching her parents kiss right in front of her. Again, she was reminded of needing to deal with the current living situation, but decided that might be a better topic for future conversations.

"Hey, what's going on?" Henry asked, coming out of Emma's bedroom with a terrible case of bedhead.

The three of them laughed at his confused expression, and David responded. "Your grandmother sent me out for groceries for breakfast, and I just got back. Are you hungry?"

"Are you kidding me? I'm starved!" Henry shouted, running over towards his grandparents. "What are we having?"

"Well, I sent your grandfather out to get supplies for some pancakes, eggs, and bacon along with other supplies. Seems like you two have been eating out a lot, considering the state of the refrigerator," Snow answered, putting an arm around Henry and pulling him into a hug.

"We tried a few times, Grams," Henry tried to explain, looking up at her. "But every time we tried to cook something we ended up setting off the fire alarm."

"Hey kid," David chuckled nervously, "I thought we weren't going to mention that."

"Oh yeah," Henry said, giving his grandfather an apologetic look. "I forgot."

Emma got up from her seat at the counter and went over to her family. "I'm not much of a cook either, as Snow can attest, but I think we can all manage to put together something edible if we all work together." She gave her mother a smile and looked to her. "So, Snow, what do you want us to do first?"

Snow beamed with happiness at the thought of her family doing this simple task together. "How about Emma and I start mixing up the pancakes and eggs. Charming, I'll let you start on frying the bacon. And Henry, why don't you get the dishes out and set the table for us to eat?"

"Sounds like a plan," David replied, giving his wife a brief kiss. "Let's get to work! I'm starving!"

Emma watched as her son, mother and father walked towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast. She had never had this kind of experience before, but she felt she could certainly get used to it quickly.

"Emma?" Snow called out as she pulled out the necessary equipment. "Are you coming?"

"Be right there," Emma replied, as she walked to her reunited family with a smile. Maybe this family thing wouldn't be so bad after all.


End file.
